ANIMALS To Be Honored With The First Annual Tom Murrin Performance Award, 2/8

Ellie Covan, Founder & Artistic Director of Dixon Place, announced today that the NYC performance company ANIMALS will be awarded the First Annual Tom Murrin Performance Award on Friday, February 8th at 9pm at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street). The award has been created to honor and celebrate the life and work of Tom Murrin (aka the Alien Comic) by providing a transformative career opportunity to an emerging artist, selected by a distinguished panel of producers, artistic directors and artists.

ANIMALS is Nikki Calonge, Michael De Angelis and Mike Mikos. Their work includes dance, video, puppetry and crafted objects to serve elements of surprise, cultural exchange and irreverence to create moments that question the flexibility of the world and the nature of humans through instinct, ability and play. ANIMALS has performed at the Bushwick Starr, Invisible Dog, Dixon Place, Three-Legged Dog Art and Technology Center and Incubator Arts Project. For more information, please visit www.bearelephantibex.com Friday, February 8, 2013 - 9PM The First Annual Tom Murrin Performance Award Dixon Place 161A Chrystie Street New York, NY 10002 212 219-0736 - dixonplace.org - FREE!

ABOUT THE TOM MURRIN PERFORMANCE AWARD

The Tom Murrin Performance Award, aka 'The Tommy', is an annual award granted to a NYC based early career artist who embodies Tom's generous artistic spirit and gift for unearthing big, meaningful ideas by creating resourceful, exuberant, mysterious, enlightening, theatrical, luminous, remarkable performance. The award is intended to provide a transformative career opportunity to its recipient, who will receive a 2013 Dixon Place residency, followed by a 3-night run and an honorarium. The "Tommy" was created to honor Tom Murrin, the beloved artist who died in 2012. He was an inspiration, a mentor and a role model for countless young and emerging artists.

ABOUT TOM MURRIN AKA THE ALIEN COMIC

Tom Murrin < February 8, 1939-March 12, 2012 > aka the Alien Comic aka Jack Bump was a performance pioneer whose life & work inspired both artists & audiences for over 40 years. He was a member of the first generation of La MaMa playwrights. He wrote four plays performed through La MaMa and produced by John Vacarro's Playhouse of the Ridiculous, including the offbeat hit, "Cockstrong", which toured with Ellen Stewart's La Mama Troupe to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels. Under the guidance of famed rock manager Jane Friedman, Tom began to perform under the name Alien Comic, opening for acclaimed punk bands in rock clubs such as CBGBs and Max's Kansas City. He performed in NYC clubs and theaters as Alien Comic, appearing in such venues as The Pyramid, 8BC, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Performance Space 122, Dixon Place, La MaMa, and more. Since the mid 80s, he created, performed, and curated a series of variety nights at Performance Space 122 and later at the Club at LaMama ETC and Dixon Place, called The Full Moon Show. His plays "Sportfuckers" and "Butt Crack Bingo" were produced at Theater for the New City and La MaMa and directed by David Levine. Tom was the first performance artist to appear on stage at the original Dixon Place location on East First Street in 1986.

Established in 1986 as a laboratory for performing & literary artists, Dixon Place (DP) is dedicated to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, literature, puppetry and performance art at all stages of development. This local haven inspires and encourages artists of all stripes & callings to take risks as they push personal and professional limits. DP's foremost priorities are to serve as a safety net for artists and to provide vivid experiences for audiences. Dixon Place presents over 700 artists & ensembles each year. Follow Dixon Place at: After starting DP as a salon in her Paris apartment in 1985, Artistic Director Ellie Covan ran the organization in her East Village living room for 23 years. After years of development & expansion, DP is now a leading professional, state-of-the-art facility for artistic expression. Dedicated exclusively to the development of new work, Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale, Penny Arcade, Peggy Shaw, Deb Margolin & Reno performed at DP in the beginning of their careers. In our new space, in addition to emerging artists, DP has been privileged to present Justin VivIan Bond, Karen Finley, Kate Clinton, Martha Wainwright, Vernon Reid, Mac Wellman, Rodney Crowell & Big Art Group. facebook/dixonplace @dixonplace The Tom Murrin Award is supported, in part, by funds provided by the Jerome Foundation and awarded by Dixon Place.